Hobart renters now paying as much as those in Melbourne

A national rental report by CoreLogic has revealed Hobart renters are paying more and more to keep a roof over their heads. Picture: PATRICK GEE

HOBART’S rents have already overtaken Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth – and now the city is nipping at the heels of another mainland capital.

CoreLogic’s new Quarterly Rental Review for the March quarter has revealed renting a home in Hobart costs just $1 less than Melbourne.

The report shows Sydney and Canberra are the nation’s most expensive cities for renters with medians of $582 and $550 per week followed by Darwin ($458), Melbourne ($454) and Hobart ($453).

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Hobart posted the largest quarterly change in rents with 3.6 per cent growth ahead of Canberra (1.5 per cent). Annually Hobart recorded a 5.4 per cent change with Canberra again posting the second largest result with 3.6 per cent growth.

Hobart’s rental yields were also strong at 5.1 per cent; only Darwin’s was higher at 6 per cent.

The report also revealed the huge jump in Hobart’s rental prices in the past 10 years.

Over the past decade, the cost of renting a house has grown by 44 per cent with units up by 40.9 per cent. Sydney recorded the next largest growth for house rents, but it was far less than Hobart at 27.2 per cent.

Real Estate Institute of Tasmania president Tony Collidge said the report’s results come as no surprise.

He said increasing sale prices over the past three years had forced investors to have to charge more in rents because of the higher level of borrowings and increasing government imposts such as stamp duty, land tax, rates and water.